KANSAS CITY, Mo. – So much for the theory that the Powerball winners from Dearborn, Mo., selected their winning numbers based on Royals Hall of Famers.
At a press conference Friday morning at North Platte High School in Dearborn, about 30 minutes north of Kansas City, Cindy and Mark Hill answered questions about their new life as millionaires and just how they came about one of the two winning tickets to the $587.5 million grand prize.
Speculation circulated nationally on NBC on Thursday that the couple may have based their selection of the winning numbers on Royals greats – the winning numbers were 5 (George Brett), 16 (Bo Jackson), 22 (Dennis Lenoard), 23 (Mark Gubicza), 29 (Dan Quisenberry) – and the Powerball number was 6 (Willie Wilson).
But the couple confirmed that the winning numbers came randomly, generated by the computer "Quick Pick" option.
Cindy, though, said, "We love the Royals."
Cindy, 51, said her husband, Mark, 52, gave her $10 prior to Wednesday's drawing and told her to "go buy 10 lottery tickets."
She laughed and corrected him that Powerball tickets cost $2 each.
The Hills' winning ticket was worth $295,750,000, and they could have taken the amount annually over 29 years. Instead they opted for the lump sum and will receive about $136.5 million after state and federal taxes.
"I think we’re going to have a pretty good Christmas," Cindy said.
The couple had been experiencing hard times recently. Cindy was laid off from her job as an office manager in 2010, and Mark only recently landed a job as a mechanic on the nightshift at Hillshire Brands food operation in nearby St. Joseph.
Mark said the couple's working days are over.
The couple, who have three grown children and a 6-year-old daughter whom they adopted from China five years ago, plan on remaining in the Dearborn area.
"We will still go down to the (Cook’s) Corner Café for breakfast," she said.
